“I… I think I turned into a werewolf!”

The brown-haired girl’s eyes shook as she looked pleadingly at me, her arms quivering slightly. Her grip on my shoulders was strong, and I couldn’t move or pull away from her. A few tears dripped down her face as she wailed, the enclosed space of the paper storage room we were in amplifying her voice slightly.

“What happened to me? Why am I…”

My eyes began to water as her grip on my shoulders strengthened, and the plastic headband she held in her right hand pressed through my uniform and dug into my skin. I shrunk back towards the nearby wall, causing her to stumble forward with me.

“It… it hurts…” I choked out, my knees beginning to shake and buckle.

“I–” seeing my contorted expression, she seemingly snapped back to reality, immediately letting go of my shoulders and backing away. “I’m so sorry!”

She hung her head, her ears drooping to the side and tail hanging dejectedly, the end of it just visible under the hem of her dress. I massaged my shoulders, taking a deep breath as I tried to compose myself.

It’s not her fault… she’s scared. She suddenly grew ears and a tail, and by the sound of things, I’m guessing she doesn’t have anyone she can talk to about it.

“I’m sorry–I, um…” she fidgeted with the headband in her hand, placing the bandage she was also holding onto a nearby shelf. “I’m not used to–my body feels...”

“It’s alright.” I took a step forward, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what to say.

She probably felt all alone in the world, with her transformation. 

“You’ve been through a lot,” I continued, leaning against the wall to the side. “Um, could you tell me what happened?”

 

“I… On Friday, I–I dreamt that I was going out for a walk, and… it was the same as–I usually go for a walk, most days… and I went the same way. And then…”

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as her voice grew more and more shaky.

“I passed this house, that… it was so loud. There was–some kind of strange noise, like rushing air. Out the front, someone was… she was surrounded by just–so many kids… all screaming.”

I quickly lifted myself off the wall as I began to recognise her story, stepping forward to listen more intently.

That’s… wasn’t that Zoey’s dream? She said that she was surrounded by kids… or spirits.

“I…” The girl in front of me shuddered slightly as she continued. “I tried to run away, because–something about that noise just… scared me, so I ran down the street as fast as I could, but… I heard something howling, and my legs just… stopped. I–I couldn’t move anymore.”

As she went on, her face turned more and more pale, and her ears and tail began to quiver.

“I–I was paralysed, and this… giant wolf–or something–stepped over me, and… turned around and started sniffing me. I thought it was going to eat me–it was big enough to swallow me whole, but… it licked my face, and then curled up around me. I woke up soon after, and found these ears and tail.”

Her tension seemed to release as she finished her story, and her shoulders loosened up. She awkwardly fidgeted with her right ear.

“I-I haven’t told my parents yet… about what happened. I still don’t know what–am I a werewolf?”

“You might be a wolf spirit.” Halfway through her story, something that Aeriel had said on Thursday popped into my head.

“The wolf spirits, who protected the forest, could take the form of a great wolf, and were extremely strong.”

That explains her weird strength, and how she lifted me up with no effort. But the ‘take the form of a great wolf’ part…

“Have you noticed anything else going on?” I asked, thinking back to Emily’s difficulties with adjusting to her transformation. “Like, struggling with sound–or something, since a wolf’s ears are fairly sensitive.”

“Umm, n-not that I know of…” Her eyes went wide, and she started to babble a little, relief clear in her tone at my offer to listen to her worries. “I–um, my hearing seems to be a bit better, and my sense of smell has improved a lot. I-It's not unpleasant or anything, though–I… I get to appreciate how things smell a lot more now.”

A shy smile crept up on her face as she spoke, and her voice gradually grew clearer, her confidence appearing to return.

“I think I’m a lot stronger now, though. I almost broke my door on the first day… it’s tough to get used to.” Turning to me, she looked down at my wrists, her expression falling as her emotions shifted again. “Sorry for–um, dragging you around like that. Did I… hurt you?”

“It’s okay,” I said, trying to reassure her. “I think I’m a lot tougher thanks to my own transformation, so… I’m alright.”

“Thank goodness–I… I’m sorry, I saw you and I just–I had to talk to you. Um…” 

Her voice trailed off as her roaming gaze settled on me, carefully looking up and down as she inspected me, before settling on my hair for a moment. She awkwardly looked away soon after, as if she didn’t want to be caught staring.

“Could you…” She restlessly glanced at and away from me, seeming unsure of herself. “Could you tell me what happened? With–what happened with your transformation?”

“Uh, sure,” I replied. It should be fine, right?

 

I left out the details regarding my… biggest change as I relayed my own story to her, instead focusing on my experiences with magic, and floating.

“It didn’t seem like much had changed at first, after my dream, honestly. My body felt a bit weird, but that was about it.”

She listened intently as I went on, her ears flicking to the side every so often.

“It wasn’t until a few days later where I accidentally used my–uhh… new powers, and my hair shifted to this weird silvery colour.”

“I was wondering about that,” she interjected, grabbing a small clump of her own hair. “Mine changed colour too, but it just went… kinda grey-ish. Your hair seems almost magical, or something.”

“...Magical?” Now that I think about it… “Hey, what does my hair look like to you?”

“It looks… I don’t know how to describe it–it’s like… silver, but it’s hiding a lot of different colours?”

“Hiding different colours–”

“Like a soap bubble,” she suddenly said, cutting off my mumbled response to her. “You know the way a soap bubble has a rainbow in it, if you look at it right? It’s kinda like that.”

Isn’t that how Emily described my hair? Like a soap bubble…

“It’s mostly silver,” she continued. “It’s just… it has a lot of other colours showing through, and they look like they’re constantly shifting, or something. That’s why I said it was magi… cal…”

Her voice fizzled out as loud, thundering footsteps approached the door, shortly followed by an exasperated shout.

“She’s in here!”

Mira?

The door burst open, and Mira, Emily, and Zoey all tumbled inside. Emily, being the first to regain her balance, staggered upright and quickly inspected the room. Her gaze settled on the wolf spirit girl, who cowered slightly under her intense stare, dashing forward and hiding behind me.

“Umm… what’s going on?” I asked, confused as to why Emily had an annoyed expression.

“You never showed up!” she exclaimed, taking a step forward as the wolf spirit girl cowered further behind my back. “You said we’d meet up at Elena’s office, so I went and waited there, but you never came.”

“Sorry, uhh–something came up.”

Could you back off a little, please? I’m happy you came for me and all, but you’re scaring her!

MIra immediately flew to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and rubbing her face against my uniform. She spent a few moments like that, before pulling away and looking up at me.

“Hi, mum… how was… class?”

Her voice seemed slightly stilted, as she tried to work her way around the last word, still unfamiliar to her.

“It was good,” I replied, gently stroking her head. “I think it went well.”

A slight smile crept up on my face as I watched Mira narrow her eyes like a cat, leaning further forward into my hand. Her hair began to warm up slightly, and the room seemed to settle into a relaxing atmosphere, Emily and Zoey both loosening up as they watched. A comfortable silence descended on the room, only broken by the wolf spirit girl’s confused whispering.

“...you have a kid?”

 

“Yes–no, um.” I quickly spun around at her comment, finding her standing a short distance away, eyeing me suspiciously. “Kinda? Not in the way that you think, but yes.”

“...right.”

“Hey! She’s the Queen, you know!” Mira quickly ducked around in front of me, trying to puff herself up as she stood between me and the wolf girl. “You better not disrespect her, Miss Wolf!”

“The queen?”

“Yep!” Mira proudly stuck her chest out as she addressed her. “The Queen of Spirits.”

“But you’re–you said you were half spirit?”

“It’s… complicated?”

“Who’s this?” Emily asked, hopping forward to stand next to me.

Zoey peered over her shoulder, letting out a small gasp as she looked over the new girl. “She has wolf ears…”

She stared back at Emily and Zoey, her eyes going wide.

“Green hair–and wings?! And… fox ears?!”

Her response started a chain reaction of chaos, as Emily and Zoey both recoiled upon being exposed.

“She can see them?!”

“My ears–did I mess up the illusions?”

A slight breeze wafted around the room, lifting up the paper sitting on the nearby shelves. Zoey reached back, trying to hold her wings still, but the wind did not die down. Her eyes glowed a piercing green as she tried to compose herself. Emily, meanwhile, released the illusions on her ears, closing her eyes to concentrate.

“They’re real!” the wolf spirit girl loudly exclaimed, her gaze glued to Emily’s now-completely-visible ears. “I thought they were–”

Her voice cut off as a teacher poked her head into the room, her curly blonde, slightly greying hair dangling behind her as she looked curiously over all of us.

“Layla?” she asked. “What’s going on? Why is there…”

Emily and Zoey’s panicking was cut off as the wolf spirit girl shouted.

“Miss Daisy? I’m not the only one who transformed!”

 

“Okay, so… I think some introductions are in order.”

Raising my voice in an attempt to take charge, I tried to calm down the situation, gesturing for the teacher to come inside and close the door. The wolf spirit girl–Layla clearly knows her, and Miss Daisy apparently knows that Layla transformed, so… it should be fine for us to tell her, right?

“Come on, you too,” I said, staring at Emily. Grumbling a little, she reluctantly released the illusion that, in her panic, she had used to cover her entire body.

“...fine,” she muttered, still sulking at just how much the teacher suddenly poking her head in had startled her.

While Miss Daisy was marvelling at the sight of Emily materialising out of thin air in front of her, I glanced up towards Zoey, who was rummaging around dejectedly in the back of the room. She had also been surprised at Miss Daisy’s sudden appearance, which had sent a strong gust of wind around the room, causing some of the papers to fly out of the shelves.

“It’s fine.” She held her hand up as both Layla and I stepped towards her, intending to help her out. "It's my own mess, and... there’s not enough room for three people back here, anyway.”

“Oh… okay,” Layla replied, seeming unsure of herself yet again. She fidgeted restlessly with the plastic headband in one hand, and the bandage, which had fallen off the shelf during the gust of wind, in the other.

“Right, anyway–” I softly clapped my hands, trying to grab everyone’s attention while being quiet enough for Emily. “Miss Daisy, can I assume that you know about what happened to Layla?”

As I addressed her, she glanced briefly towards Layla, who was trying to make herself small up against one of the nearby shelves. She turned back to me, her gaze catching on my hair.

“Yes, I do. She told me after her class this morning, but… who are you?”

Wait–of course she doesn’t recognise me, I’m a girl now!

“Uhh–” I awkwardly flailed my arms around, trying to figure out what to say, before Emily spoke up and came to my rescue.

“She’s a transfer student. Today’s her first day, and she’s in most of my classes, so I gave her a run-down of all my teachers.”

“You’re the new transfer student?” A look of recognition dawned on Miss Daisy’s face, shortly followed by a much more relaxed smile. “Oh–I think Miss Crawford told me to look out for you.”

How many of the teachers did Elena tell about me?!

“My name is Miss Daisy. If you’re in Emily’s class, then I’ll be your teacher.”

“We have Art tomorrow,” Emily added, bringing her tail around in front of her as she leaned against the wall. “It’s our morning class.”

“We’re just about to start our projects, so you’re just in time.” Miss Daisy had a cheeky smirk as she spoke, unbefitting her flowery demeanour.

I forgot she was like this… 

“Don’t remind me!” I retorted. “It’s already stressful enough, going back–transferring schools this late in the year!”

“You’ll be fine.” She laughed at my somewhat grumpy expression. “I can extend the deadline for you if you need, since you’re new.”

“Thanks… I might need it.”

 

Once Zoey had finished putting all of the loose papers back in the shelves, we arranged ourselves in a circle, or as much of one as we could in the cramped space of the paper storage room. There were no chairs, so most of us opted to lean against the side walls save for Miss Daisy, who stood near the door.

“Right–anyway, introductions,” I began, still trying to figure out the best way to tell the art teacher that I wasn’t human. “I’m Flora, and I’m… a half-spirit.”

“Don’t forget that you’re the Queen,” Mira mumbled, holding my arm as she stood next to me. “Take pride in that.”

Layla spoke up from just to my left, starting the chain of introductions that circled around the room.

“I’m Layla, I’m in Year 9, and I’m a–what was it you said? Wolf spirit?” She glanced at me looking for clarification, and exhaled deeply as I nodded, seemingly glad to have finally figured out what she was. “Right, yeah… a wolf spirit.”

Emily was next, jumping off of Layla’s introduction.

“I’m Emily, and I’m a fox spirit.”

“I’m Zoey, and I’m a fairy.”

“I’m Miss Daisy, and I’m… a boring old human.”

Layla laughed at Miss Daisy’s introduction, her tail pushing her dress out slightly as it wagged back and forth.

“You guys–I’m... really happy to meet you.” A few tears ran down her face as she spoke. Her voice was shaky, but from relief this time, rather than nervousness.

“I’m so glad I’m not alone.”

 

*****

 

“Was it really alright to just… tell her?”

Emily leaned in close, whispering in my ear so that the rest of the class couldn’t hear us.

“Miss Daisy? Probably... I mean–Mira said that she had the potential for spirit sight, so… and she already knew about Layla.”

As we were leaving the art wing, Miss Daisy had mentioned something about feeling something weird in the room, despite being unable to see Mira. Once we were out of earshot, Mira had whispered some cryptic comments to me about her having good compatibility with spirits, and potentially being able to develop spirit sight by exposing her to magic. However, she left before I could ask what she meant, saying something about wanting to find Aeriel.

 

“I know, but...” 

Emily paused for a moment, looking around the class to make sure no one was listening, but our classmates were busy chatting away, preparing for their experiments.

“What are you two whispering about?” Caitlyn asked, leaning against the wall. Amelia, next to her, was busy flipping through her textbook, trying to find the instructions for the lab experiment.

Our afternoon class was science, and the teacher had lazily asked everyone to pair up, so that we could do an experiment.

“I-it’s nothing,” I replied, still slightly on edge thanks to what had happened a few moments ago.

 

As we had moved to the tables towards the outskirts of the science room, in order to do the experiment, the teacher had called Emily out. When he made a snide comment about his earlier direction for everyone to pair up, I realised that he had completely failed to notice me.

“...I’m right here.”

“Oh. You the new transfer student?” He took one look at me, before scoffing and looking away. “Don’t make a mess.”

Caitlyn and Amelia, who had immediately partnered up and were standing on the other side of our table, both glared at him as he walked off. Caitlyn stuck her tongue out briefly behind his back, turning to me as soon as he was out of earshot.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s just a grouchy old man.”

 

Halfway through our experiment, as we were lighting the Bunsen burners on our tables, Emily bent forward slightly to whisper to me again.

“I do want to tell Caitlyn and Amelia at some point, though.”

“I mean… I’m fine with that,” I replied, sneakily glancing towards them. “They seem nice, and if you trust them…”

I stopped talking as I realised that Amelia was staring at Emily, and had been for quite some time. Her gaze was completely focused on her, even as Caitlyn busied herself working through the experiment.

“...Amelia? What’s up?”

“Huh?” She seemed to snap out of her trance as I called out to her, and she nervously averted eye contact, echoing the words I had used just before. “I-it’s nothing.”

As she went back to the lab experiment, busying herself with reading the instructions laid out in the textbook, she took one last peek at Emily and I, glancing between my hair, and Emily’s eyes.